A morning skincare routine runs from the thinnest texture to the thickest, and ends with sunscreen. In practice that means six steps at most: cleanse, tone or apply an essence if you like one, a serum, an eye cream if you want one, a moisturiser, and sunscreen last. Only cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen are essential. Below is each step in order, and the products we would choose for it.
Why Does the Order Matter?
Each layer should be able to reach your skin, or sit comfortably on the one before it. Watery textures go first because they spread easily and absorb quickly; richer creams follow and help hold everything in place. Sunscreen goes on top, where it can form an even film over the whole face. Give each step a minute to settle before the next.
Step One: Cleanse
Overnight, skin gathers a little oil and the residue of last night's creams. A morning cleanse is a lighter task than an evening one, so a gentle gel or foam is enough. Massage it over damp skin with your fingertips, rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.
Sisley's Gentle Cleansing Gel, with tropical resins, is made for combination and oily skin and works into a light lather from a pump. Clarins' Domaine Hydrating Gentle Foaming Cleanser turns from cream to a fine foam, with alpine golden gentian and aloe vera extracts, and is designed for normal to dry skin. Caudalie's Vinoclean Mousse Nettoyante Fleur de Vigne arrives as an airy foam from the pump, with grape and sage. Avène's Cleansing Foam, with the house's thermal spring water, is for normal to combination sensitive skin and can be used over the face and eyes.
- Gentle Cleansing Gel
- Domaine Hydrating Gentle Foaming Cleanser
- Vinoclean Mousse Nettoyante Fleur de Vigne Facial Cleanser
- Cleansing Foam Facial Cleanser
Step Two: Tone or Essence, If You Like One
This step is optional. A toner or essence is a watery layer pressed or swept over clean skin, and it leaves the face feeling fresh and ready for what follows. If your skin feels comfortable without it, leave it out. We explain the different kinds in Facial Toner: What It Does and How to Choose One.
Shiseido's Treatment Softener is a light lotion for normal, combination and oily skin, applied with the hands or a cotton pad before serum and moisturiser. Benton's Deep Green Tea Toner is built around green tea, with sodium hyaluronate, in a lightweight liquid. Chanel's Le Tonique Eau Vivifiante is a refreshing toner with an anti-pollution positioning and glycerin. Martiderm's Blooming Toner, for normal to dry skin, combines proteoglycans, vitamin C, allantoin and prebiotics.
- Treatment Softener Toner
- Deep Green Tea Toner
- Le Tonique Eau Vivifiante Anti-Pollution Invigorating Toner
- Blooming Toner
Step Three: Serum
A serum is a concentrated, lightweight layer built around one or two ingredients. In the morning, many people choose vitamin C, an antioxidant valued for helping skin look brighter, or hyaluronic acid, which holds water and helps skin feel hydrated. A few drops are enough. Vitamin C can tingle on sensitive skin, so patch test first. Our guide Vitamin C Serum: How to Choose and Use It goes further.
Vichy's Liftactiv Supreme Vitamin C Brightness Serum contains 15% pure vitamin C, and the house asks for a few drops each morning, followed by moisturiser and sunscreen. Rilastil's Intense C Gel Serum pairs stabilised vitamin C with hyaluronic acid in a light gel. For hydration rather than brightness, Collistar's Hyaluronic + Polyglutamic Acid Face Serum combines four weights of hyaluronic acid with polyglutamic acid and layers easily under cream and make-up.
- Liftactiv Supreme Vitamin C Brightness Serum
- Intense C Gel Serum Illuminating and Antioxidant Face Serum
- Hyaluronic + Polyglutamic Acid Face Serum
Step Four: Eye Cream, If You Want One
Skin around the eyes is thin and delicate, so it suits a lighter, gentler formula. An eye cream is optional, but in the morning a fresh texture can help the area look rested and gives concealer a smooth base. Use very little: tap it along the orbital bone with your ring finger, keeping well away from the lash line.
Origins' Ginzing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff is made to help tired-looking eyes look more awake, with vitamin C, niacinamide, caffeine and ginseng, and it layers under make-up. La Roche-Posay's Hyalu B5 Eye Cream is a lightweight, hydrating cream for the eye contour in a compact tube. Neutrogena's Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream, with hyaluronic acid, has a fresh water-gel texture that absorbs quickly.
Step Five: Moisturiser
Moisturiser helps skin feel soft and comfortable through the day and gives sunscreen a smooth surface to sit on. In the morning, a gel, a gel-cream or a light emulsion is usually enough, especially under make-up. Dry skin may prefer a richer cream. Whether you need a separate cream for the evening is a question we answer in Day Cream or Night Cream: What Changes?
Lancôme's Hydra Zen Gel Cream is a light, soothing gel-cream with a soft rose scent. Guerlain's Super Aqua-Emulsion Légère is an airy emulsion, which the house suggests following with sunscreen during the day. Klorane's Cornflower Water Cream, with cornflower water and hyaluronic acid, is made for the morning, worn alone or before make-up. Clinique's Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly is a cooling gel for all skin types.
- Hydra Zen Gel Cream Face Moisturiser
- Super Aqua-Emulsion Légère Light Hydration Face Moisturiser
- Cornflower Water Cream Face Moisturiser
- Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly Face Moisturiser
Step Six: Sunscreen, Always Last
Sunscreen is the step that matters most in the morning, every day of the year, including grey ones. It goes on last, over moisturiser, and before make-up. Apply it generously to the whole face, the ears and the neck, and reapply through the day if you are outdoors, after sweating or towelling. How to read SPF and UVA labels, and which texture suits your skin, is covered in Choosing a Face Sunscreen: SPF, UVA and Texture.
Heliocare's 360° Sensation Sunscreen is an ultralight SPF 50+ fluid with very high UVA protection, rated PA++++, and resistant to water and sweat. Isdin's Fusion Fluid SPF 50+ is a mattifying fluid with hyaluronic acid, designed for sensitive skin. Sensilis' Water Fluid SPF 50+ has a light water-fluid texture and a dry-touch finish, with hyaluronic acid. Clinique's Superdefence City Block SPF 50 is a light daily sunscreen that the house intends as the final step of the morning routine.
- 360° Sensation Ultralight Oil Free Sunscreen Protector SPF 50+
- Fusion Fluid SPF 50+ Sunscreen
- Water Fluid SPF 50+ Sunscreen
- Superdefence City Block SPF 50 Sunscreen
The Routine at a Glance
- Cleanse with a gentle gel or foam, then pat dry.
- Toner or essence, if you like one.
- A few drops of serum: vitamin C or hyaluronic acid.
- Eye cream, if you want one, tapped on lightly.
- Moisturiser, light or rich as your skin prefers.
- Sunscreen, generously, as the final step.
When Less Is Better
On a busy morning, cleanse, moisturise and apply sunscreen. Add new products one at a time, so you can see how your skin responds. If it becomes red, itchy or sore, stop using the new product, and ask a pharmacist or doctor if it does not settle.
If you change only one thing, make it the last step: sunscreen, every morning, whatever the weather.
